--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I've always felt that the writing I…" description: "\"I've always felt that the writing I responded to most - the novels and stories that compelled me, that felt like they described the world I live in, wi..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/923/jonathan-lethem-1403_books_i-ve-always-felt-that-the-writing-i-resp_867262.jpg" --- # I've always felt that the writing I responded to most… ![“I've always felt that the writing I responded to most - the novels and stories that compelled me, that felt like they described the world I live in, with all of its subjectivity, irrationality, and paradox, were those which made free use of myths and symbols, fantastic occurences, florid…” quote by Jonathan Lethem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/923/jonathan-lethem-1403_books_i-ve-always-felt-that-the-writing-i-resp_867262.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/923/jonathan-lethem-1403_books_i-ve-always-felt-that-the-writing-i-resp_867262.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/923/jonathan-lethem-1403_books_i-ve-always-felt-that-the-writing-i-resp_867262.jpg) > “I've always felt that the writing I responded to most - the novels and stories that compelled me, that felt like they described the world I live in, with all of its subjectivity, irrationality, and paradox, were those which made free use of myths and symbols, fantastic occurences, florid metaphors, linguistic experiments, etcetera - to depict the experiences of relatively 'realistic' characters - on the level of their emotions and psychology, rather than in terms of what kinds of lives they led or what kind of events they experience.” [Jonathan Lethem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-lethem/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The author values literature that uses myth, symbolism, and experimental language to explore realistic characters' inner lives. **In simple terms:** Prefers symbolic, experimental stories about real emotions. Key Takeaway Seek works that blend myth with psychological depth. Themes myth symbolism psychology experimental writing Mood thoughtful analytical Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - creative writing - literary analysis - teaching - therapy Key Concepts narrative depth emotional authenticity Questions to Reflect On - How does symbolism affect your connection to characters? - Can experimental language enhance emotional truth? A Different Perspective Such works can be inaccessible to some readers. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Emotion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emotion/) [Fantastic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fantastic/) [Irrationality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/irrationality/) [Metaphor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/metaphor/) [Myth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/myth/) [Novel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novel/) [Paradox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/paradox/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) [Storytelling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/storytelling/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [I don't really care about how good a song is, I only want them to reflect what I felt when I was writing them](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lana-del-rey/i-don-t-really-care-about-how-good-a-song-is-i-only-want-them-to/) [Lana Del Rey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lana-del-rey/) > [...she felt about reading what some writers felt about writing: that it was impossible not to do it and that at this late stage…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bennett/she-felt-about-reading-what-some-writers-felt-about-writing-that-it/) [Alan Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bennett/) > [I felt that writing about peoples' lives was a heck of a responsibility, and I wanted to know them in a deep way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-desmond/i-felt-that-writing-about-peoples-lives-was-a-heck-of-a/) [Matthew Desmond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-desmond/) > [Whereas to write, all you need is paper and an idea, so I felt that writing might be my stepping stone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curtis-hanson/whereas-to-write-all-you-need-is-paper-and-an-idea-so-i-felt-that/) [Curtis Hanson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curtis-hanson/) > [I just always felt whole when I was writing. I felt this kind of beautiful privacy that I never felt in any other way.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheila-heti/i-just-always-felt-whole-when-i-was-writing-i-felt-this-kind-of/) [Sheila Heti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheila-heti/) > [Then the writing became so fluid that I sometimes felt as if I were writing for the sheer pleasure of telling a story, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/then-the-writing-became-so-fluid-that-i-sometimes-felt-as-if-i-were/) [Gabriel Garcia Marquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/) > [“Interviewer: The other day, when we first talked, you said that you felt that, when you were writing, you were often following invisible patterns.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-stone/interviewer-the-other-day-when-we-first-talked-you-said-that-you-felt/) [Ruth Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-stone/) > [“I read not for entertainment but to feel what the writer has felt while writing even though if it was fiction.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pushpa-rana/i-read-not-for-entertainment-but-to-feel-what-the-writer-has-felt/) [Pushpa Rana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pushpa-rana/) > [There are so many ways of posturing that people associate with being a writer. They imagine you wearing a beret and drinking only red…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-catton/there-are-so-many-ways-of-posturing-that-people-associate-with-being/) [Eleanor Catton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-catton/) > [I've always felt writing a song was a bit like going on location. That's true in an almost literal sense. Where you are seeps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elvis-costello/i-ve-always-felt-writing-a-song-was-a-bit-like-going-on-location-that/) [Elvis Costello](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elvis-costello/) > [I always felt through writing that I wanted to rotate the world slightly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-honor/i-always-felt-through-writing-that-i-wanted-to-rotate-the-world/) [Carl Honore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-honor/) > [“All at once, because life’s too short and it’s always like magic when you find a good thing. All at once, because I’m much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nessie-q/all-at-once-because-life-s-too-short-and-it-s-always-like-magic-when/) [Nessie Q](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nessie-q/) > [But there are times when men have serious thoughts, and it is at such times, when they begin to think, that they begin to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/but-there-are-times-when-men-have-serious-thoughts-and-it-is-at-such/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [The search for truth is a cooperative, unending endeavor. We can, and should, engage in it to the extent we can and encourage others…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-search-for-truth-is-a-cooperative-unending-endeavor-we-can-and/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [There is no question but that nominally religious scientists like Francis Collins and Kenneth R. Miller are doing lasting harm to our discourse by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/there-is-no-question-but-that-nominally-religious-scientists-like/) [Sam Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-harris/) ## More by Jonathan Lethem > [It was often this way, life consisted of a series of false beginnings, bluff declarations of arrival to destinations not even glimpsed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-lethem/it-was-often-this-way-life-consisted-of-a-series-of-false-beginnings/) [Jonathan Lethem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-lethem/) > [I've been an advocate against the view of the writer as a partitioned genius hanging in conceptual space, or up on a mountain, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-lethem/i-ve-been-an-advocate-against-the-view-of-the-writer-as-a-partitioned/) [Jonathan Lethem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-lethem/) > [“I suppose there was never a reason for tearing down a cabin or scrapping a stopped automobile, if you had all those acres.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-lethem/i-suppose-there-was-never-a-reason-for-tearing-down-a-cabin-or/) [Jonathan Lethem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-lethem/) > [Life is fundamentally up for grabs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-lethem/life-is-fundamentally-up-for-grabs/) [Jonathan Lethem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-lethem/) > [My heart, to put it more simply, got nostalgic for the present. Always a bad sign.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-lethem/my-heart-to-put-it-more-simply-got-nostalgic-for-the-present-always-a/) [Jonathan Lethem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-lethem/) > [It's impossible to overstate how my relationship to music forms a preserve for the esoteric or even spiritual aspect of my relationship to cultural…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-lethem/it-s-impossible-to-overstate-how-my-relationship-to-music-forms-a/) [Jonathan Lethem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-lethem/) > [“If. If Mingus Rude could be kept in this place, kept somehow in Dylan's pocket, in his stinging, smudgy hands, then summer wouldn't give…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-lethem/if-if-mingus-rude-could-be-kept-in-this-place-kept-somehow-in-dylan-s/) [Jonathan Lethem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-lethem/) > [I had always wanted to be a writer who confused genre boundaries and who was read in multiple contexts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-lethem/i-had-always-wanted-to-be-a-writer-who-confused-genre-boundaries-and/) [Jonathan Lethem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-lethem/) > [“Memory is a rehearsal for a show that never goes on.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-lethem/memory-is-a-rehearsal-for-a-show-that-never-goes-on/) [Jonathan Lethem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-lethem/) > [“There is nothing Tourettic about the New York City subways.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-lethem/there-is-nothing-tourettic-about-the-new-york-city-subways/) [Jonathan Lethem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-lethem/) > [“Mingus Rude, Arthur Lomb, Gabriel Stern and Tim Vandertooth, even Aaron K. Doily: Dylan never met anyone who wasn't about to change immediately into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-lethem/mingus-rude-arthur-lomb-gabriel-stern-and-tim-vandertooth-even-aaron/) [Jonathan Lethem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-lethem/) > [I try to write every day. I don't beat myself up about word counts, or how many hours are ticking by on the clock…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-lethem/i-try-to-write-every-day-i-don-t-beat-myself-up-about-word-counts-or/) [Jonathan Lethem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-lethem/) > [“Enough of this. Does every conversation with you have to be the director's cut? Get out of the car.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-lethem/enough-of-this-does-every-conversation-with-you-have-to-be-the/) [Jonathan Lethem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-lethem/) > [“The stumbling block will turn out to be the traditional one for students of consciousness: the flashlight is incapable of shining on itself, so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-lethem/the-stumbling-block-will-turn-out-to-be-the-traditional-one-for/) [Jonathan Lethem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-lethem/) > [“May one plead, Your Honor, postmodernism as an involuntary condition?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-lethem/may-one-plead-your-honor-postmodernism-as-an-involuntary-condition/) [Jonathan Lethem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-lethem/) [Explore all 241 Jonathan Lethem quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-lethem/) ## More Books quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [If what I write is literature, I guess you'd better emphasize the 'litter.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-lunch/if-what-i-write-is-literature-i-guess-you-d-better-emphasize-the/) [Lydia Lunch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-lunch/) > [My sentences got sharper and my stories more efficient, and I gradually learned to imagine the reader more clearly and to empathize with that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-thompson-walker/my-sentences-got-sharper-and-my-stories-more-efficient-and-i/) [Karen Thompson Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-thompson-walker/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [“Within the pages of books, I've journeyed to Mandalay, the Milky Way and Santa Fe, without once having to leave my armchair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-ansbro/within-the-pages-of-books-i-ve-journeyed-to-mandalay-the-milky-way/) [Kevin Ansbro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-ansbro/) > [The Rosary is the book of the blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-rosary-is-the-book-of-the-blind/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [“Tacitus did not write a most dangerous book. His readers made it so.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-k-krebs/tacitus-did-not-write-a-most-dangerous-book-his-readers-made-it-so/) Christopher K. Krebs > [“Take some books and read; that’s an immense help; and books are always good company if you have the right sort.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louisa-may-alcott/take-some-books-and-read-that-s-an-immense-help-and-books-are-always/) [Louisa May Alcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louisa-may-alcott/) > [Reader, if you are gifted with nerves like mine, aspire to any character but that of a wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/reader-if-you-are-gifted-with-nerves-like-mine-aspire-to-any/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) > [I have many who keep me going, I am very fortunate in this sense. There is nothing like a child who knows more about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/floyd-cooper/i-have-many-who-keep-me-going-i-am-very-fortunate-in-this-sense-there/) [Floyd Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/floyd-cooper/) > [I think books in which people are really happy and things are going well are probably the most challenging novels there are to write,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-think-books-in-which-people-are-really-happy-and-things-are-going/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [It's like the query letter problem that I just mentioned, magnified a hundredfold. You might be good at telling a story, but that doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/it-s-like-the-query-letter-problem-that-i-just-mentioned-magnified-a/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [“Be careful about reading health books. Some fine day you'll die of a misprint.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-herz/be-careful-about-reading-health-books-some-fine-day-you-ll-die-of-a/) Markus Herz > [But editors are still the world's readers. And thus the eyes of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/but-editors-are-still-the-world-s-readers-and-thus-the-eyes-of-the/) [Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/) [Browse all 59,485 Books quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I've always felt that the writing I responded to most - the novels and stories that compelled me, that felt like they described the world I live in, with all of its subjectivity, irrationality, and paradox, were those which made free use of myths and symbols, fantastic occurences, florid metaphors, linguistic experiments, etcetera - to depict the experiences of relatively 'realistic' characters - on the level of their emotions and psychology, rather than in terms of what kinds of lives they led or what kind of events they experience.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jonathan Lethem" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-lethem/i-ve-always-felt-that-the-writing-i-responded-to-most-the-novels-and/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Books" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-lethem/i-ve-always-felt-that-the-writing-i-responded-to-most-the-novels-and/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/923/jonathan-lethem-1403_books_i-ve-always-felt-that-the-writing-i-resp_867262.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/923/jonathan-lethem-1403_books_i-ve-always-felt-that-the-writing-i-resp_867262.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/923/jonathan-lethem-1403_books_i-ve-always-felt-that-the-writing-i-resp_867262.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I've always felt that the writing I responded to most - the novels and stories that compelled me, that felt…” — Jonathan Lethem", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Jonathan Lethem", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-lethem/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I've always felt that the writing...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-lethem/i-ve-always-felt-that-the-writing-i-responded-to-most-the-novels-and/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-lethem/i-ve-always-felt-that-the-writing-i-responded-to-most-the-novels-and/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```